June 19911$!. 50 Pennsylvania il The Keystone State's Official Fishing Magazine vMti Straight Talk On July 30, 1990, the Pennsylvania Fish Commission passed a resolution designating the Penns Creek catch-and-release project in Mifflin and Union counties as the "Ralph W. Abele Memorial Glen." On Sunday morning, April 29, 1991, members of the Pennsylva­ nia Fish Commission and the Boating Advisory Board, and Com­ mission staff, friends and members of the Abele family gathered at the Penns Creek site, located just upstream from the village of Weikert. During a brief ceremony the project was dedicated as a memorial to Ralph W. Abele. Commission staff constructed a beautiful cairn on which is mounted a permanent brass plaque to serve as a landmark for the Ralph W. Abele Memorial Glen. A Fitting Memorial The glen consists of nearly 430 acres of beautiful woodlands through which flows a 3.5-mile stretch of Penns Creek. This waterway is one of Pennsylvania's largest and most famous limestone trout streams. The stream is prime trout water, originat­ ing in Penns Cave. It is fed by many high-quality spring-fed streams such as Pine Creek, Elk Creek, Sinking Creek, Swift Run, Cherry Run and other mountain streams. The fast-falling stream has an ideal pool/riffle ratio, and summer temperatures remain lower than in other Pennsylvania streams its size. The section owned by the Fish Commission is the most isolated portion of the entire stream. The waterway hosts diverse, large fly hatches and an outstanding population of brown trout. For these reasons, this section of Penns Creek, together with an additional privately owned stream section at the lower end of the glen, is managed as a walk-in, catch-and-release trout manage­ ment area, for a total length of 3.9 miles. Fishing is permitted year-round during daylight hours with the use of artificial lures only, and either spinning or fly fishing gear. It has become a very popular fishery for many anglers who enjoy and support the catch- and-release concept. This tract was purchased in 1975 by the Pennsylvania Fish Commission, when Ralph was executive director, for a total cost of $300,000, and the area has since been maintained in near- pristine condition. The project was one of Ralph's favorite spots and he was often seen walking through its woodlands and along its stream banks. It is without question a most fitting memorial. Edward R. Miller, P.E. Executive Director Pennsylvania Fish Commission Pennsylvania J™ 1991 VoL 60 No-6 Pennsylvania Fish Commission William J. Sabatose ANGLER President The Keystone State's Official Fishing Magazine Brockport Leonard A. Green Securing Public Access by K. Ronald Weis Vice President Most people don't know when the Commission access program began, nor Carlisle do they realize what's involved in providing all those public boating and Marilyn A. Black fishing spots 4 Cochranton David Coe 2,000 Death Traps by Virgil Chambers State College Pennsylvania's waterways harbor some 2,000 insidious killers. Do you Ross J. Huhn know how to avoid them? 8 Saltsburg Calvin J. Kern Smallmouth Bass Regulations: Changes for 1991 by Rickalon L. Hoopes Whitehall The September 1990 Pennsylvania Angler included a survey, and here are T. T. Metzger, Jr. the results 10 Johnstown Howard E. Pflugfelder Pennsylvania's Biggest Walleye: New Cumberland When, Where and How Anglers Caught Them by Art Michaels Leon Reed If you're a walleye fisherman, don't miss this lowdown 15 Honesdale J. Wayne Yorks Bass on Top by Darl Black Benton Catching bass on top is effective, and using these ideas can help you raise your score 16 Boating Advisory Board Donald J. Little KIDSPAGE! by Steve Ulsh Chairman Common but different 20 Philadelphia Clayton Buchanan The Flies of June by Jim Bashline Pittsburgh Any fly in the box could be a winner in June, but the wide range of insects Judy Obert makes trout cautious when it comes to a fly's size and color. Choose 'em Greentown carefully to increase your success 21 Thaddeus Piotrowski Bloomsburg Live Bait for Bass by Jim Gronaw Nightcrawlers, minnows and crayfish are the mainstays for Pennsylvania Magazine Staff smallmouths and largemouths. Each bait has its own best time and place 24 Editor—Art Michaels On the Water with Dave Wolf Art Director—Ted Walke Circulation—Eleanor Mutch Making it agame 31 Staff'Assistant—Rose Ann Bartal Staff'Assistant—Charlene Glisan The covers Pennsylvania Angler (ISSN0O31-434X) is published monthly by the The battling musky on this issue's front cover, photographed by Doug Stamm, shows Pennsylvania Fish Commission. 3532 Walnut Street. Harrisburg. PA 17100. the kind of action you can scare up this month everywhere in Pennsylvania with many ©1991. Nothing in this magazine may be reprinted without the written permission of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission. Subscription rates: one different kinds offish. On the back cover, photographed by Darl Black, Bob Hornstrom year, $9; three years, $25; single eopies are $ 1.50 each. Second class postage is paid at Harrisburg. PA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: hefts a Conneaut Lake (Crawford County) bass. And speaking of bass, smallmouth Pennsylvania Angler Circulation, Pennsylvania Fish Commission. P.O. Box 1673. Harrisburg. PA 17105-1673. For subscription and change of bass anglers will want to turn to page 10 to check out the results of the Commission address, use above address. Please allow six weeks tor processing. Send smallmouth bass survey. The article on page 16 explains how to fool largemouth all other correspondence to: The Editor. Pennsylvania Angler, P.O. Box 1673, Harrisburg, PA 17105-1673. Editorial queries and contributions and smallmouth bass on topwater lures, a productive ploy from now until fall. An­ are welcome, hut must be accompanied by self-addressed, stamped envelopes. Material accepted for publication is subject to Pennsylvania Msii Commission other effective tactic is fishing for bass on live bait, and in Pennsylvania that's mostly standards and recjuin-metils lor editing and revising. Submissions am handled nightcrawlers, crayfish and minnows. See page 24 for details. Trout fishing this carefully, but the publisher assumes no responsibility lor the return or safety of submissions in his possession or in transit. The authors' views, ideas month can also sizzle, and on page 21 you can read about how to keep the action and advice expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinion or official position of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission or its staff. The cookin'. On page 31 we open up a can of worms by tackling the subject of tourna­ Pennsylvania Fish Commission receives federal aid in sport lish restoration. ment fishing, and all anglers and boaters will want to heed the word of caution on Under appropriate federal acts, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age. sex or handicap. page 8. This month's 125th Commission anniversary article on page 4 takes you If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire more information, inside the Commission's access program, and on page 28, take a look at readers' opinions. please write to: The Office of Equal Opportunity. Department of the Interior. Washington, DC 20240. Lastly, walleye enthusiasts won't want to pass up the secrets on page 15. SECURING PUBLIC ACCESS BYK. RONALD WEIS HLav, e you ever motored through a part of Pennsylvania, enjoying Site selection the magnificent scenery, and suddenly came upon an enticing stretch Access development is a much more involved process than one of water that begs you to explore it with your fishing rod, only may suspect at first glance. One of the most important and more to discover that there is no public access to it? Or have you returned difficult initial tasks is site selection. to your favorite old fishing spot early on a sparkling April morning The ideal site is a generous parcel oflevel land, on a little-used, only to discover "no trespassing" signs blocking your entry? If large body of good-quality water near a large population center. you have experienced these or similar situations, you should The site should be located just above the flood plain, on a straight appreciate what the Fish Commission's access program is all about. stretch of slowly flowing water. The bank should be a vegetated, Developing public access in Pennsylvania covers a wide gamut stable, erosion-resistant slope of between 12 and 15 percent grade. of requirements and problems. On the lower Delaware River, for The body of water should be deep enough for the planned activ­ example, we deal with tidal fluctuations of about seven feet and ity, with a minimum depth of three feet at the end of the ramp. the problems of salt water. Just north of Philadelphia, where the There should not be underwater obstructions or unpredictable changes freshwater and brackish water meet, we must contend with the in depth. The bottom should be stable and not subject to change tide and with freshwater icing problems. Lake Erie accesses present from normal flows, storms, waves, tides, erosion or other depo­ problems typical of all the Great Lakes: ice, heavy wave action sition. and frequent strong storms. Lake Erie poses yet another obstacle. Needless to say, the ideal site does not exist, at least not any­ Most of Pennsylvania's Lake Erie shoreline is composed of high, more. Therefore, during the selection process it is necessary to erodible bluffs. With the availability of very little flat land at lake weigh the attributes and deficiencies of those sites available not level except at areas where streams enter the lake, developed and only with the acquisition and development costs, but with the potential access sites are rare.